From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mbalax (or Mbalakh) is the national popular
dance music of Senegal and
The Gambia. Mbalax is
a fusion of popular Western music and dance such as jazz, soul, Latin, and rock blended with sabar, the traditional
drumming and dance music of Senegal. The genre's name derived from
the heavy use of accompanying rhythms used in sabar called
mbalax.

Contents

History
and Influence

Mbalax in its current form developed in Senegal in the 1970s. Up to that time popular
music was dominated by Haitian kompa, Congolese Soukous, American Soul and Funk,
as well as, most prominently, Cuban music, as interpreted by
Senegalese musicians. Influenced by the 'back to roots' philosophy
of Negritude and the receding influence of
colonialism, artists began to mix these sounds with traditional
Senegalese music and forge new sounds incorporating their new
national identity. Musicians began singing in Wolof (Senegal's
largest national language) instead of French, and incorporated
rhythms of the indigenous sabar drum. Dancers began using moves
associated with the sabar, and tipping the singers as if they were
traditional griots.

Among the bands that played this new style, Etoile de Dakar
(starring Youssou N'Dour and El Hadji Faye), and
Raam Daan (starring Thione Seck), were the
most popular and innovative and are credited with the modern sound.
Since becoming popular, both Mbalax and its associated dance have
spread to other region such as Mali, Mauritania, Ivory Coast and France. This dissemination has
come about through radio, audio cassettes and televised video
clips.

Following worldwide trends in pop music, modern Mbalax has
evolved to contain keyboards, synths and other electronic
production methods. As Jazz, Funk, Latin (especially Cuban) and
Congolese pop music influenced the early sounds of Mbalax, today it
is increasingly influenced by RnB, Hip-Hop, Coupé-Décalé, Zouk and other modern Caribbean, Latin, and
African pop musics. Recently, Mbalax artists have frequently
collaborated with artists from these genres, such as Viviane Ndour's
recent collaborations with Zouk star Philip Montiero and
French/Malian rap star Mokobe. However, its sabar rhythms and
Islamic influenced vocals continue to make Mbalax one of the most
distinctive forms of dance music in west Africa and the
diaspora.

Mbalax
Dance

Mbalax Dancing is popular in nightclubs and social gatherings as
well as religious and cultural gatherings for example; weddings,
birthdays, and naming ceremonies. Although it is popular among all
ethnic and socio-economic groups, it is most popular among young Wolof. Movement
varies across age and gender lines. Mbalax dance style incorporates
pelvic gyrations and knee movements.

New Mbalax dance movements are constantly emerging, this often
occurs with the increasing popularity of a particular song.
Patricia Tang describes some of the new movements:

"Examples of such dances are the ventilateur ('electric fan',
which describes the motion of the buttocks swirling suggestively);
xaj bi ('the dog', in which a dancer lifts his/her leg in imitation
of a dog); moulaye chigin (which involves pelvic and knee movements
that perfectly match the sabar breaks); and more recently, the
jelkati (a dance in which the upper arms, bent at the elbows, move
in parallel motion from left to right). Interestingly all of these
dance crazes are closely tied to sabar breaks, and some (such as
tawran tej) are even named for the vocal mnemonics of the sabar
rhythm they accompany."[1]

Music
and Instrumentation

A talking-drum player with Youssou N'Dour

Senegalese songs are usually unwritten, and certain instruments
or musical styles are reserved for specific genders or age groups.
In the past, only griots could perform music. Their
traditional role was transmitting oral history, genealogies and
social rankings, diplomacy, and storytelling. Today, griots
continue to participate in naming ceremonies, weddings, and
funerals.

Music is performed using instruments such as drums, balafon, riti, Tama (talking drum),
sabar drum. In the 1970s Western instruments and equipment such as
the flute, electric
guitar, piano, violin, trumpet and synthesizer have been incorporated into the
music, to accompany the dance. In addition to the instrumentation,
humming, chanting and singing (in either Wolof, French or English)
are used to accompany the music that the dance is done to. The
lyrics of mbalax songs address social, religious, familial, or
moral issues.

According to author Patricia Tang:

"The rhythmic foundation and primary identifiable feature of
modern mbalax is the sabar…in Wolof gewel percussionist parlance,
mbalax literally means 'accompaniment'. Within a sabar ensemble,
different drums play different roles, and mbalax refers to the
accompaniment parts played by the mbeng-mbeng. However, the mbalax
part varies rhythmically from one dance to another.[2]